Republicans' developing plan to deal with ObamaCare is "repeal and delay": They'll immediately pass legislation undoing the Affordable Care Act, but it will have a built-in grace period of two to four years to allow the GOP to develop and transition to a viable alternative.
In an essay for the New England Journal of Medicine published Friday — President Obama's third contribution to an academic journal while in office and his second this week — the president castigated this course of action as a "reckless" endangerment of Americans' health care which puts politics above people. "Republican congressional leaders say they will repeal the ACA early this year, with a promise to replace it in subsequent legislation," Obama writes, but they "have yet to introduce that 'replacement bill,' hold a hearing on it, or produce a cost analysis — let alone engage in the more than a year of public debate that preceded passage of the ACA."
The climate of short-term uncertainty the delay would create could have a multitude of serious ramifications, Obama argues. "This approach of 'repeal first and replace later' is, simply put, irresponsible — and could slowly bleed the health care system that all of us depend on."
The "repeal and delay" plan also faces opposition from within GOP ranks thanks to Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who this week indicated that though he supports a repeal he will vote against the current repeal resolution as it assumes $9 trillion in additional federal debt over the next decade.